Meeting Abstract
Social interactions are critical for the survival and reproduction of many organisms, but also carry costs, such as exposure to pathogens. Given the role played by the immune system in determining vulnerability to infections, could molecules from this system also serve a role in mediating exposure to pathogens by impacting variation in social behavior? We here test whether immune function in the blood may be associated with the propensity to seek social interactions (sociability). To do this, we studied a population of wild house mice (Mus domesticus) where social interactions were tracked remotely and we used these interaction data to categorize animals in terms of sociability. Blood, hair, brain and other tissue samples from animals with extreme sociability phenotypes were collected. We then assessed the levels of three important cytokines (TNFα, IFNγ and IL1β) in the serum of these animals and tested whether cytokine levels could be explained by the sociability phenotype and/or sex of the mice. We found main effects of sex and sociability on the levels of TNFα, but not on IFNγ or IL1β. We discuss these findings in light of what is known about how each of these cytokines can impact behavior during illness. Our results indicate that, at baseline (or outside major disease events), certain elements of peripheral immunity may be associated with sociability. While it is known that several pro-inflammatory cytokines can impact behavior during illness, we are only now uncovering the possible effects that these immune mediators have on every day behaviors. Our findings help further our understanding of the multiple observed connections between immunity and social behavior.
